Character Portraits, Real and Imagined

I have recently begun attending a figure painting session with fellow bay area artists. It’s been a great weekly routine in which about four to six painters and a model crowd together for warmth in a cozy garage studio in the Oakland Hills and together struggle to depict the human form for four hours. Beer and bad art puns are shared amongst all. I’ve been to a lot of different drawing and painting groups over the years, and I have to say this one is my favorite so far. Sometimes I pull off a great portrait, and sometimes I just learn from mistakes (usually the latter).

Sometimes in my initial lay in I go for something more than a simple portrait. The above painting of the model Mickey was one of these. I struggled with her posture and proportions pretty much the whole time, but at the end I was reasonably sure I captured her silhouette somewhat accurately. It’s not a knock-out painting by any means, but I learned a lot, which is what it’s all about.

This practice is in turn translating into what I am doing at the studio. I’ve recently started up a series of small character portraits that are inspired by a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that I’m running. I’m not sure what this series will turn in to, but I’m having a lot of fun translating what I’m learning into narrative works. Stay tuned for more coming soon!